Nothing says summer more than a red, ripe tomato, fresh off the vine.
Make that a slightly lumpy, lopsided heirloom tomato, tinged with purple, green or yellow and not looking 100 percent ripe, plucked from the vine.
"So ugly, so good!,'' read the hand-lettered signs at Schoolhouse Farms, in Borodino.
A gorgeous summer day and the promise of heirloom tomatoes lured me to Schoolhouse Farms. The farm is owned and operated by Richard Malcolm and his wife, Rebecca Muir Malcolm. They describe it as "a pesticide-free eco-ganic micro-farm dedicated to heirloom tomatoes, black currants, beans, potatoes, sunflowers and herbs, grown naturally from heirloom seeds nurtured and harvested by hand.''
The Malcolm children. From left: Baryl, Morel, Finan and Brahm.
Pull into the driveway and you'll likely be greeted by some -- or all -- of the Malcolms' four children. The older girls can tell you the names of the tomatoes and how to use the red okra that's also for sale (some people saute it with garlic; others use it in soups, stews and gumbos). They like to make a sale and know how to make change without any prompts from a cash register!
Heirloom tomatoes come in all shapes, sizes, colors and flavors, and have names like Brandywine, Green Zebra, Big Rainbow, Earlygirl and Black Krim. They look a little twisted and gnarly, and their unusual colors and shading might make you wonder if they still need time to ripen. Their delicate skins make them difficult to transport, so you don't often see them in supermarkets.
Their taste: Wow! They're full of flavor, the kind of flavor tomatoes had back in the day, when my mother and grandmother eagerly anticipated the arrival of homegrown tomatoes and relished them with salt and a dab of mayonnaise.
Now, tomatoes are bred to look cosmetically perfect and survive long trips in trucks -- not so much for superior taste. The Schoolhouse farmers have been experimenting with and growing different varieties of heirlooms for 12 years, and say this mostly dry, hot summer is a banner year for them. They expect to have heirlooms and San Marzano tomatoes, prized for sauce, well into September.
Usually I buy heirloom tomatoes to eat "as is,'' with a little salt and pepper. Today, I'm making an heirloom tomato and Jarlsberg cheese quiche, and topping it with rings of yellow and orange heirlooms.
Fellow Central New York blogger Maureen Green is a big fan of Schoolhouse Farms' heirloom tomatoes. To read about her passion for them, click here. To learn more about the Schoolhouse farmers and their philosophy, check out the Schoolhouse Farms blog (recipes included).
Schoolhouse Farms is at 1848 Rose Hill Road (Route 174), Borodino, between Skaneateles and Otisco Lakes. From Route 20 in Skaneateles, take Route 41 south 8 miles to the blinking light in Borodino. Watch for the SHF 1848 signs.
Schoolhouse Farms' heirloom tomatoes, squashes, fingerling potatoes, herbs and more are also sold at the Skaneateles Farmers Market. The market takes place 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays in the parking lot at the Skaneateles Community Center, on State Street (Route 321).
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